La Liga has decided to cruelly tease my inner optimist once more. Anyone who watched Real Madrid scrape to a draw at El Madrigal on Saturday night will have noted that they had Diego Lopez to thank in an otherwise confused performance. Likewise, those who tuned into Barcelona’s 3-2 victory over Sevilla earlier that evening will long remember the dubious refereeing decision that robbed the Andalucians of their own draw.

Quite frankly, neither of the big two looked dominant, far from it, in fact. That was in stark contrast to Atletico Madrid, who outclassed Almeria at the Vicente Calderon to keep pace with Barca at the top of the league and leave the neutral desperate for change in Spain with their imagination running wild.

Yes, the quality of Atleti’s opposition was undoubtedly lesser than the sides that faced Barcelona and Madrid, but this wasn’t the first time they have turned over their opponents this season. The Sevilla side that ran Barcelona oh-so-close, for example, tasted a 3-1 defeat at home when Diego Simeone’s men came calling on matchday one. Rayo Vallecano, for their part, were handed a 5-0 thrashing soon after.

The third conclusive victory came away at Real Sociedad, where Atleti pulled 2-0 ahead early into the second half, and though Xabi Prieto later scored for the home side to hand them a glimmer of hope, in reality, the away team could have killed it off well before then. The Basques are no pushovers, as their Champions League opponents are likely to discover, so Atleti’s victory in their heartland was nothing to be scoffed at.

Nor is their form in general. Four wins, no losses, 14 goals scored and four conceded (the exact same number of goals for and against as Barcelona). Looking deeper at that comparison, if we consider that Atleti have never really struggled in any of those four games, while Barca came close to being found out against Sevilla and Valencia, Los Rojiblancos are arguably the form team in La Liga, bar none.

Which is where the temptation comes in. The temptation to consider them serious candidates for the league title. The logic, above and beyond their results, is pretty clear: they may have lost Falcao, but they now look like a better team. As one Spanish commentator noted at the weekend, these days Atleti have at least one quality player on the bench to cover in every outfield position. That shouldn't be overlooked. Quietly, Simeone has been building a competent squad.

If one of the centre-backs gets injured, Toby Alderweireld, one of the most coveted central defenders in Europe and a former Ajax captain, is ready to step in. Need something different up front? Throw Leo Baptistao into the mix. What about promising youngsters? You aren’t likely to find a more promising creative midfielder in Spain than Oliver Torres.

Koke, recently handed his senior Spain debut, has been given a more prominent role by Simeone, adding a less predictable, more easy-on-the-eye edge to their game. The Argentinean coach is quickly figuring out how to get the best out of David Villa, too, with the veteran looking liberated in comparison to his latter days at Barcelona. Diego Costa is currently unplayable, seemingly teasing and inviting opponents to just try and get the ball off of him.

There was even time to leave Arda Turan on the bench at the weekend, a player that, lest we forget, is the subject of interest from top level clubs every summer, and was irreplaceable for Atleti as recently as last season. Things are going well. Very well.

We shouldn't get carried away just yet. The real tests start this week. The Champions League arrives on the horizon, ready to add a midweek fixture to Atleti’s schedule and really test their resolve. Their group, containing Porto, Austria Vienna and Zenit, is most certainly winnable. A proud club, at the bare minimum Atleti will hope to get to the knockout stage. Don't expect them to take Europe lightly.

How they negotiate that midweek challenge will be key to any league ambitions they quietly harbour. Whisper it, but if they rotate effectively, keep everyone happy, and avoid key injuries, then they maybe, just maybe, have a shot of keeping pace with the big two. At least until Christmas. After that, we’ll begin to see what they’re really made of.

The key to it all is Simeone, who has remained a constant at the Calderon while the big two have chopped and changed. The Atletico players know exactly what is expected of them, the new signings integrating seamlessly into a settled squad. Their excellent start to the league reflects that.

It’s a far cry from the Bernabeu, where half the team has been swapped and a new manager is still trying to shift Madrid's style from counter-attacking to possession based. Or indeed, the Camp Nou, where Barcelona's new coach hasn’t even had a pre-season to let his own ideas bed in, nor managed to sign the defender they desperately need. The moment was perfect for Atleti to strike, and struck they have.

Publicly, Simeone is keeping quiet, but there is a private perception that the coach himself may secretly believe that, with a bit of luck and the right application, this could finally be Atleti's year. Most observers will run a mile at that suggestion, but then again, who would have thought that they would beat Madrid at the Bernabeu in a cup final? Negotiate the Champions League challenge skillfully and the league rewards could be momentous.

Betis 3-1 Valencia
Valencia were bad. Very bad. In the eighth minute, Betis were 1-0 up, Salva Sevilla pouncing on a half-asleep Joao Pereira then laying off to Jorge Molina. On the 22nd minute, it was 2-0, the aforementioned Salva turning scorer this time, completing a beautiful passing move. Before the half-time whistle it was three, and good night Valencia. Ricardo Costa headed in a consolation goal for Los Che in the second half, but a comeback was never in sight, so comprehensively were they outclassed. In Valencia’s last three La Liga fixtures they have shipped seven first half goals in total. Djukic needs to fix it, fast, or the infamously trigger-happy club will come down, hard. A midweek game against Swansea is the last thing he needs.

Levante 0-0 Real Sociedad
Like Atletico, Real Sociedad need to negotiate their own Champions League dilemma, and so far they aren't doing it very well. The only explanation for their lacklustre performance on Saturday, one that made Levante look far better than they are, is a lack of motivation. Carlos Vela, Antoine Griezmann and Xabi Prieto were all woeful, while the rest of the team weren’t much better. Switching off and on between Europe and the league is a dangerous game, and one Jagoba Arrasate would be best to avoid.

FC Barcelona 3-2 Sevilla
Barcelona weren’t brilliant, Neymar was. The Brazilian drew three yellow cards on his own in the first half, so excellently did he keep the ball and beat opponents for fun. Barcelona went 1-0 up through two more Brazilians, a Dani Alves header meeting an Adriano cross. Two players, incidentally, that Sevilla would rather not have sold but ultimately had to. In the second half the away side fought back, yet a perfectly legitimate goal was ruled out for reasons we are all still searching for (don't say it was a foul - it wasn't). Lionel Messi, who had done nothing in most of the minutes prior, popped up to score Barcelona’s second, only for Ivan Rakitic and Coke to level the score with minutes to play. Justice done? Not quite. Messi produced his one moment of brilliance on the night to create a goal for Alexis Sanchez. Heartbreak for Sevilla, and a get out of jail result for Barcelona, who defended as poorly as they ever have. Not Champions League winning form by any standard.

Villarreal 2-2 Real Madrid
Bale scored. Madrid were a mess. Villarreal were brilliant. So was Diego Lopez. More on that, here.